Never putting your puppy on a lead

[RegalLime]

We have a 4 month old lab. He's our first dog but we have lots of dogs in the family and had them as pets growing up. All the dogs we know have started on leads and then when/if they have good recall they have off lead walks.

I've had two people (a spaniel owner and another lab owner) tell me I should never have put my pup on a lead. That young pups will always follow you so you don't need one. I've replied that I use one for safety around roads and to stop him running off after dogs/people but apparently that's not necessary as he would have been born with perfect recall had I not ruined it by using a lead.

Is this a thing? Well clearly for these people it is but it's not something I've heard of before.

We attend a dog training class and are working on recall there. The trainer has never mentioned not using leads. My dog has great recall at home/in the garden but given how excited he is on lead I don't think he would come back to me if he saw people/dogs.

We live near a town centre and he would run across roads to meet people if he could. He would approach people and dogs who don't want to be approached and possibly upset people/get barked at or injured by another dog.

But maybe none of this would be the case if I'd never used a lead?!

Utter bollocks.

Hi OP

We were told not to use a lead by the breeder of our spaniel.

We practised recall in the garden, rewarded with treats and we live near the countryside and took a lead with us but didn't use it once we were out in the fields/woods with him (unless there was another dog on the lead, horses etc etc).

He's 8 now and still has amazing recall.

That's the most bonkers nonsense I've ever heard. How would you get him to the park without a lead? He's a puppy and much like a toddler he doesn't know the difference between a pavement and a road. Yes he might have followed you but not necessarily on the pavement and if something spooked him he would be almost inevitable to run off, hey hit by a car or cause an accident.

on a lead next to the road,
once in a safe area, field, good to start young without a lead,
but not next to the road, that's ridiculous,
surely all dogs are excited by cats/other dogs - particularly when a puppy

It's actually good advice.

Obviously not by roads etc, but small puppies are hugely unlikely to run off - they want to be with you all the time.

There's an argument for having dogs off lead from day one, and it's what we did with our lab. But that's being off lead in appropriate spaces, and being put on the lead as and when necessary. Our lab has pretty good recall and will walk to heel but I still wouldn't walk her off lead on a pavement alongside a road. You'd have to be insane to do it with a puppy.

No that is definitely NOT a thing. There are even schools of dog training that teach a puppy should be on a lead at all times, even in the house, so you can easily correct their behaviour (like chewing). Leads are very important for dog control anyway, our dog has been attacked three times by dogs off lead that their owners supposedly could ‘control’.
Labs are notorious pullers with thick strong necks. Ours used to choke himself rather than not pull. You might find a harness easiest.

I have let him off lead in the park before (not near roads) and if there aren't any other dogs his recall is great, but as soon as there are other dogs he doesn't listen at all! So I haven't let him off much recently as I'm worried about him approaching unfriendly dogs. We have a big garden so he's off lead there but I think I'll have to hire a dog field to train over a bigger area.

Interesting that the "never on a lead thing" is a thing though - I'd never heard of it before the past couple of months.

What a load of BS. Maybe extremely small puppies who shoild be with their moms anyway, but once they hit 10-12 weeks they are off in explore mode. It’s very dangerous not to have puppies on leads.

We use a harness 👍. I'm working on the pulling by just stopping when he pulls.

We tried this with DDog, first day out after jabs took effect.
Two fields, one river (don't know if she used the foot bridge or fording point) another field and a car park later DH caught up with her standing on a café table.

Except it is a thing in many circles.

Especially with working gun dogs and farm dogs - many are never on leads and are trained from day one to stay with their owners. Obviously for many "normal" owners that's not an option as they have roads/other dogs to deal with but it definitely is a "thing".

Where I live, there are owners who have never had their dogs on leads. Even by roads, the dogs just trot along next to them. Obviously I'm not advocating for people to have their dogs off-lead by roads, but there are lots of people who will argue that the earlier you have your dog off the lead (where safe) the better.

This makes no sense. The skills are NOT related. A dog can learn to walk on a lead and have amazing recall and learn to walk next to you without a lead. My dog does all of these things. Being on a lead does not stop a dog learning recall.

We were given this advice by the breeders of our lab. We used to pop on a lead if by the road, but unclip as soon as off the main road. Worked well for us and she's a superstar now.

It's not BS, though.

It's incredibly common in many circles, especially with working dogs. I see it every single day and the dogs never run off or run far. You can always use a long lead if you're worried but the dogs I know with the best recall are the ones who have been off since the beginning - normally with other dogs.

I'm an experienced dog owner and would always keep my dogs on a lead near traffic, it only takes a squirrel or Fox or cat to suddenly run in front of you into the road and your dog could momentarily be distracted into the road. It's also a criminal offence to walk your dog by the road without holding it on a lead.

Once in a field or woods away from traffic I agree that puppy is best off the lead.

I can see it's a totally valid method of training a working dog. But if the OP is walking her dog on pavements, I'm guessing she isn't training a working dog.

It's not BS, though.

It's incredibly common in many circles, especially with working dogs. I see it every single day and the dogs never run off or run far. You can always use a long lead if you're worried but the dogs I know with the best recall are the ones who have been off since the beginning - normally with other dogs.

But none of the owners suggesting this have working dogs and neither does the OP so the fact that working dogs do it is irrelevant. If the OP never had her dog on a lead and it didn't follow her, chased another dog and led to it getting injured by a car then all these people would be calling her a terrible dog owner.

@coffeecupsandwaxmelts I was thinking perhaps it's more of a "farm dog" thing. I can see how it would work if you lived somewhere where your dog could roam safely, but not in a town where I have to cross roads to get to the park and where once there there are a whole mix of dogs. I guess that's why I was taken aback by the advice as clearly that's not the specific situation most dog owners live in.

We did this as much as possible with ddog (spaniel) from the moment she went on walks. We'd already been working on recall regularly since 8 weeks at home.

Not near busy roads - but she was on off lead walks from 10 weeks old every day. Puppies won't run away from you, they follow you and are scared of losing their person. Tapping into that from a really young age is the best way to instil it as a habit.

She's 9 months now and has incredible recall. But more importantly, she has learned that she needs to watch us, so she stays close without prompting.

No it's utterly irresponsible advise not to mention dangerous. Including for gun dogs. Dogs should be taught from day one how to be on the lead. They should also be being taught recall. Unless you have rock solid recall your dog should not be off lead in public.

So bloody sick of shit dog owners unable to keep their dogs under control. It's now got to the point I can no longer walk my dog in public due to her being so terrified of off lead dogs.

Is the OP talking about a working dog in a farm?l or a gun dog? I don’t think so. I say in another post — having a dog on lead does not stop them learning recall and staying near their owners. The idea that a dog should never have to be on a lead is ludicrous because most people believe their dog is highly trained when they aren’t. Dogs off leads are the reason other dogs and people are attacked. My dog has been attacked three times by dogs off leads by owners who think they aren’t necessary. Even in dog shows, walking in a circle on a lead is a skill evaluated.

Which is why I said you can use a long-line if you're worried :)

But it clearly is a "thing" that works for lots of people - I see it everyday, and not all the dogs are working dogs - many are just normal pets in pet homes.

I'm not saying people should just let their dogs off the lead regardless of what's going on around them/regardless of their dogs behaviour, but I do think that you can be too cautious and then it becomes a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

People are (understandably) nervous to let their dogs off, so they never let them off - the dog never gets the chance to practise recall and then buggers off at the first opportunity - the owners then think "well, he can't be trusted", never let him off again, and the cycle repeats itself.

small puppies are hugely unlikely to run off

Until they do.

My pup (c. 6 month old) has been on the lead when out and about since we got her. Her recall is excellent. We live rurally with a huge garden flanked by farms.

Yesterday, we were in the garden and she was happily following me around as usual until a noise in the field next door startled her and she bolted. No idea how but she got through the tiniest gap in the double, tightly wired fence (we literally had it “serviced” the week before we got her) that’s behind a very thick hedge, and into a field of sheep and newborn lambs. It’s never happened before, even with our bigger dog.

Thankfully, I was able to run around the front of our house and jump the gate into the field to get her back before she worried any of the pregnant sheep (they were down the very far end and she turned the other way, thankfully).

She’d have been facing the business end of a shotgun if the farmer had been in there.

My husband is out there now adding a third layer of wire and digging it down further. We’re also switching the radio fence back on- I don’t like them at all but needs must.

Leads are designed to act as a defense when a dog’s nature takes over. That happens a lot. Even the best trained dog is still a dog and will bolt when faced with an irresistible urge, or spooked.

Our jobs, as owners, is to control our dogs and prevent that happening.

@coffeecupsandwaxmelts I am nervous to let him off the lead tbh! But I guess it's also a balance of risk. Having him on lead a lot might make training recall harder in the long run and be less fun for him (and get me sneery comments from people like I mentioned in the OP!). But having him off lead could cause much worse things happening to him, or him scaring someone who doesn't like dogs etc..